The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States have discussed how to bring the so-called six parties back to negotiations to denuclearize North Korea.
Following the talks, South Korean negotiator Hwang Joon-kook said the two sides reaffirmed their stance that they, along with the international community will strongly respond to further provocations by the North.
As for the long-stalled six-party talks, Washington maintained that Pyongyang's intent to denuclearize must be confirmed before returning to negotiations.
This comes after the Chinese foreign minister asked South Korea to push to restart the talks, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's expected visit to Seoul this month.